2l8 IRRIGATION FARMING. 



ence with this grain. The straw does not grow as 

 long as other grain, but notwithstanding dry weather 

 the heads will usually fill. 



We have noticed that farmers are often inclined to 

 slight the barley crop, and when water is short give it 

 to other fields. One peculiarity of barley is that it 

 does not show to the eye the need of water until it may 

 have suffered beyond redemption. When barley grows 

 with a shortage of water it retains its natural color, but 

 fails to grow long straws and stools but little. It 

 throws all its strength into forming heads, and these 

 begin to show at scarcely eight inches above ground. 

 Water applied at this stage will carry these heads on to 

 ripeness, but will not produce much more growth of 

 straw, no more stooling, and the heads will have but 

 few full kernels. 



Barley prefers an open, warm soil, tending to clay 

 rather than sand, with good drainage. The Calif or- 

 nians of later years have come to the conclusion that 

 barley is best of all the grain crops as tolerant of 

 alkali. Professor Hilgard has maintained that while 

 sugar-beets and wheat will resist from 18,000 to 20,000 

 pounds of alkali to an acre, barley will withstand 

 32,000 pounds within a depth of three feet. Barley 

 does better on rich soil and thrives well on land the 

 first year after treating with stable manure, but, of 

 course, in this latter case the crops require much more 

 care in the irrigating and considerably more water. 

 When well fed and watered the growth is enormous, 

 and the probability is that some of it will lodge. Still, 

 lodging does but little damage. The heaviest yields 

 we have ever seen were from stands badly lodged. 



